Sunday, December 02, 2007

Back to regular posting on Monday. But wanted to get something up in the wake of another weekend of college football chaos. Wow, wow, WOW!

Some people will point to what happened Saturday as exactly the reason why we need a CFB playoff. But I think such losses are a stronger argument to leave things alone.

Seriously, would any of us with a life have been watching WVU vs. 4-7 Pitt if there was a 16 team playoff? Hell no. The loss would have simply meant that instead of being a top 2 seed, the Mountaineers would be, oh, an 8 seed or so. Ho hum.

Instead, West Virginia's season came down to a 4th down call with under four minutes left. And I was glued to the set.

Same with the Oklahoma game. The entire college football loving world was also checking out that game to see if another BCS slot opened up.

Is it perfect? Hell no, as Michigan found out last year. But it sure as hell is exciting.

So who should face OSU in the title game? Personally, I'd love to see OSU play LSU and - believe it or not - I hope OSU kicks their ass. Bad. Real bad. For the Big 10...and for a couple other reasons many U-M fans can probably figure out.

109 comments:

Thanks for the support. Believe it or not, most of us in Buckeye nation (minus a few idiots) will be pulling for Michigan and the rest of the Big Ten to kick ass in the bowl games. GO BLUE (until next November) GO BIG TEN! and GO BUCKS!

Wow, another crazy week. 7 different teams have arguments as to why they should face OSU in the NC game. I count USC, LSU, GA, OK, KU, VT, and Hawaii have legit gripes. I also agree with you about how this weekend is evidence for why there should not be a playoff. I was on the edge of my seat for that Pitt-WV game and I'm a PSU student.

Funny that WV got props for killing UConn last week and proving they want and deserve the NC game, and then they come out tonight and play scared against the pornstache.

Are you bitter about Miles staying at LSU? OSU's worst nightmare is about to happen. Getting to play a well rested SEC Champion LSU team. As the Road Runner says, "Beep, Beep, Beep"See ya later Buckeye defense.

LSU had their shot at being #1 not once, but twice. While they've lost 2 of their last 7 games, Georgia has been on a tear. We closed our season by beating 5 bowl teams by double digits. This includes Florida and Auburn (2 teams LSU struggled with) and Kentucky (who LSU lost to).

BCS logic should dictate that if #1 and #2 lose, #3 and #4 move up. Buckeyes and Dawgs.

As the only undefeated team in the country, I think Hawaii should have a shot. But since they don't come from one of the annointed conferences, they wont. Next up should be Kansas with one loss, but they didn't win their conference, so they wont. Next up should be Georgia...see above. Then it comes down to Oklahoma, LSU or USC. That's a tough call. I suspect they are going to punt.

You beat me to it. If we were going to allow Kansas a shot at #1 with their weak schedule, why not Hawaii? We could call it the BCS Weak Schedule Bowl. I can't deny the Bucks easy schedule this year.

Regarding LSU: If you think Tressel hasn't fixed whatever glitch happened last year vs. Florida you're the typical SEC Kool-aid lush. Bring it on. You all sound like Miami before the 2002 title game. Sweet redemption draweth nigh (well, I can act tough prior to the outcome, right?)

Last night, I didn't think LSU had a chance at the title game, but today's perusing suggests I'm in the minority. Oh well. Katie, you were right.

I mean, Hawaii did what they were supposed to do, which is win, right? As for there supposed weak schedule...yes and no. They still have probably the most brutal travel schedule of any of the Division IA schools (I can't force myself to call it FBS or whatever the hell they call it now....FBS, what is that anyway, sounds like something they'd sell using a mother and daughter sitting on a stump...Mom, why do I have this odor? Well daughter, you see.....Anyways...). Granted they play in a weak conference, but don't they play in the same conference as Boise State who ended up beating Oklahoma last year?

As such, I think they deserve a shot but they aren't even getting mentioned except in jest. Instead we have the East Germany judge with her dour look making the decision.

Unfortunately, a playoff will have many of the same problems. Instead of issues with 2,3, and 4...we'll have issues with 17, 18, 19, etc. Because I imagine they would still base it on the polls which means that mid-majors would get shut out of the process for the most part.

I'm beginning to think there is no good way to determine a champion out of a poll of over 100 teams.

The Big XII Championship Game would've still been extremely important even if there was a playoff in place. I assume they'd keep the rule that only 2 teams from a conference could make the playoff, so Oklahoma and Missouri would be playing for a spot, with Kansas likely in (even though Missouri deserves it over them).

Also, are we really not going to have a playoff so the WVU - Pitt game has added excitement? Wouldn't you be glued to your seat for the whole playoff?

That a team like LSU can have the #1 spot twice, be unable to hang on to it both times, and then get another shot at the National Championship goes against the main argument for the current system. The whole idea that every game matters so much without a playoff is lost when teams are still given chance after chance to prove they're the best.

Sorry Yost, I don't buy that arguement. If it wasn't Mizzou/Ok and WV Pitt, it would have been ASU/Arizona or Texa/Texas AM last week to secure at-large spots. If anything, more games would come into play.

I guess it's all about what you're looking for in a system. If all you want is hand-wringing, controversy and conversation, then the flawed, inconsistent BCS is actually PERFECT.

I'd rather see the best teams settle it on the field. Instead of a couple of relevant/exciting games at the end of the regular season (in which we hope for upsets, but really seldom actually get them), we get seven games between truly great teams with win-or-go-home pressure. It's the Elite 8 with all the 1's and 2's surviving. It's probably pointless to even hope for, but it's the lost potential that makes me so cranky this time of year.

Since the FCS has a playoff (by the way, App St. is 2 games away from their THIRD straight national championship), and we're stuck with the BCS, I'd say that FBS stands for Fucking Bullshit... but that's just me :-)

Slightly off topic, but also mentioned here, for the first time ever I enjoyed reading "assclown" After CBS gave us no love yesterday, it was nice to read the freep and feel the media at least put it out there that we got sucker punched.

At this point, aside from ALWAYS rooting for the Big Ten in bowls, I really don't care who plays in the NC... I'm just psyched that Michigan might forgo what was once called the "MicronPC.com Bowl" (as well as Blockbuster, Carquest, Mazda Tangerine, and now Champs Sports) to play in the Citrus Bowl... yes the CITRUS BOWL (fuck Capital One bank). GO BLUE!

Les Miles proved himself to be the punk I thought he was. Part of me would like to see an LSU - OSU matchup just so the sweater could bitchslap this idiot back to the Bayou, and those of us who were against his candidacy could say "I told you so". But when I'm being more objective I think the only fair match-up puts Hawaii (yes I said Hawaii!) in the championship.

When you look at a team that can gut-check & come back from a 21 point deficit to remain the only undefeated team, in a season full of no name schools upsetting the "power" schools, I don't see how any fair minded person can deny Hawaii their shot.

I personally would like a playoff. Instead of being glued to your seat for a WVU vs. Pitt game, wouldn't you rather watch Oklahoma at USC or BC at LSU? This article I think is a great idea: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=AsaJF29ysOcC11cK1nEnzdvtxLsF?slug=dw-playoff112707&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

In regards to Les Miles, Thank God Hes staying at LSU. That is nothing more than a Christmas blessing.

In regards to the NCI'd love to see LSU and USC battle it out. They are the most deserving teams in my opinion. They would also be the most intresting to watch. TOSU and LSU would be so boring, because TOSU would get wooped hard core. And that is not good for the Big Ten

Lastly, Did anyone watch ESPN last night when, Carroll, Miles, Stoops and that coach from Georgia all called in to lobby for their team to play in the NC. Tressel did not call in even though ESPN was begging him to . Maybe the sweater vest took a page from Lloyds book.

Furthermore... does tosu really want to lose another NC game? That will be 3 in the last year and a half and the rest of the country is getting tired of it. Let someone else play. I truly think that the BCS should really f everything up and have Hawaii play GA and have it be the most unwatched NC game ever. It probably wouldn't even sell out the stadium. Either way this is one of the worst seasons of college football in many years. Bring on a playoff!

Yeah lane, i hate to say it, but I'd love to have a badass head coach and a shot at the NC every year. I hope and prey and beg and plead on a WAY to obsessive basis about it, and take heart in knowing that all you crazies share my obsession (along with the people generating 2500 comments on mgoblog yesterday.) If nothing else, this is fun, I just really hope we don't screw it up.

As for who should be playing in the NC, that's tough. Georgia looks fucking awesome right now. Knowshon Moreno is a stud. For those of you who haven't seen this redshirt freshman run make a point to catch their bowl game- he reminds me of a man named Hart. FUSC is playing great and is probably a Booty broken finger away from being undefeated. LSU may be the best team, but they were already #1 twice and couldn't hold on- why should they get another shot? Hawaii came back from a 21 point deficit last night, contributed to my hangover, and is undefeated. After Boise last year and all the upsets this year, can you really hold them out? Not logically.

The only way to fix the system is a plus one. The regular season and bowls keep their importance, and you have great teams playing for a spot. Essentially a playoff hybrid.

I woke up to a text of "Go Buckeyes" this morning, then i threw up a little in my mouth. Guess I was hoping your return to the NC was just a bad dream. One horrible, jager-induced dream.

I think Roy said it best.....Chaos Rules. This year has been pure chaos in College football.

At this point, we can only hope that the Big Ten has a good showing in bowl games. Including tOSU. Do I want them to play for the NC? Not really. Do I think that it has to feel so good to start the season off thinking your year was going to be average at best and then you end up in the NC? You bet. Congrats to the Bucks for having a great season! Now WIN the NC and do the Big Ten proud!

Rich,who are you to tell people who they can and cannot cheer for? As an OSU fan i cheer for UM every week of the year (except for 1), so that if/when OSU beats UM, that win is significant. SEC homers (like yourself) have touted their conference's supposed "strength" all year, but B10 fans can't cheer for their conference to refute the SEC's claims?Just another one of the SEC double standards, i guess.

Totally agree, BCS may be flawed, but it is exactly the system that makes college football work. A playoff will be the slow death of the collegiate game. Got a nice article about it at Nittany White Out.

1) I despise double stds. If we are not going to match the 12-0 team w/ the 11-1 team, how can exclude one for its lack of schedule strength w/ out considering excluding them both? Once you question UH for its weak schedule, shouldn't you do the same to tosu? I'm not saying USC/LSU/OU et al should play instead of tosu, but how do you toss one & not the other? BSU's Fiesta appearance says we shouldn't.

2) Distinctly recall Gary Danielson stating that a team that can't win its conference can't play in the BCS this same time last year. How do you justify UGa under the same criteria?? Again, double stds.

3) To the extent the mnc is important? This system is a failure. Miko is correct that you'd have debate somewhere around 15- 20, but no one would doubt the final #1 (just like b-ball). Millions of dollars, pretige, and bragging rights being decided on a whim on the last Saturday nite/Sunday morning of the season now. Play all year, end w/ the same record as 5 other teams, & it all comes down to political deals and conference alliances. Yes, last nite made for good TV, but lousy bowls in the long run.

The whole Georgia thing just makes me laugh. How many times did we hear "you've got to win your conference to play for the national championship" last year. I guarantee that the Georgia coach voted Florida #2 last year because "they won their conference." I guess we will find out how self-serving the SEC can be.

Yeah T-9, the Adrian Peterson thing looks horrible. The guy is the second coming of Walter Payton. I think if he'd been healthy at OK he would've gone first though, so we wouldn't have had a shot at him anyway.

I'm just happy you guys get to go to a decent bowl game now. It feels weird that we're gonna be going to a better one than you considering you beat us.

I don't want LSU in it because two-choke jobs like UK and Arkansas should have kept them from even cracking the top 10 in my mind. But if it's gonna be LSU, god I want the sweater-vest to destroy them.

Ok, this is far fetched, but I write thriller's and it tends to be impossible to turn off my writers imagination.

My brother was watching or listening to the Miles presser after the game last night and Les said he hadn't talked to anyone at U of M. That he hadn't been contacted so there was no offer. He has never specifically said "I would not accept an offer from Michigan", and he also said that they've agreed in principal on a new contract but nothing has been finalized.

Let's say BM contacts Miles before Dec. 6th, an offer is made and he accepts. After all, his best friend has said publicly all we have to do is offer and Les will "come home".

Todays AP poll has LSU at #2, so if the BCS is the same, we could have a NC game with Miles coaching LSU and on his way to Michigan next fall.

This is about as likely as Giselle leaving Tom Brady for me, and actually probably more so (I am rather charming, after all) but what if?

I'm starting to think we should just hold a coaching search every year, this is way too much fun.

And yes, (assuming he's not coming) I'd love to see the Sweatervest destroy them.

I'm a fan of either a playoff or a return to the old ways of crowning a National Champion. The old way was convoluted but they didn't pretend it was anything else. The fact that an undefeated team isn't even being considered shows what a sham the system is.

What's funny, all the bobbleheads last year were saying that Michigan had its chance and blew it. LSU blew its chances twice. So how do they justify that?

As I said, I don't think there is a fair way to determine a champion of a league of over 100 teams. If they went on strictly conference champions, you'd have the arguments that the MAC is not the Big 10 and should therefore not be as well represented in the championship. So I don't know.

As for the coach...Bring us Paul Johnson. Although the fact that he brought Navy back to respectibility means that he should stay there....

strange how this year the BCS rankings are like a hot coal---no one can hold on to one for very long. whereas in other years everyone was winning leaving NO clear 'best'

what does it all mean???

the BCS is freaking flawed. period.it's damned near impossible to pick the "best" team since the metrics are sooo skewed from the git-go. Strength of schedule??? Number of wins??? Pre-season seeding in the polls??? Points scored for and against???

But every year, we have the same darned conversations and consternations over the freakin' BCS.

I blame Jeff Sagarin for this whole mess. Not sure if his was the first computer poll but his certainly one of the most famous. (Not to mention it seems to have that Big 10 gets -1 bit) Then of course there's all the shenanigans with the coaches poll. I don't know....

Met Pete Carroll before and he really is an humble and very polite guy. He makes sure the football team supports the other athletic programs which I find very refreshing for a "football" school. I'd love to have him in Maize and Blue. However, I have a hard time seeing him leaving USC. He's the king of LA and there's no reason whatsoever for him to bolt. For Pete Carroll's current situation, there are no greener pastures.

All I noticed about the mgoblue site is a lot of visual work went into the new version. There's still room for improvement though. I do development for a living and I try to not be so critical of others' work because since I know better, I tend to look at things much more critically.

Just to be devil's advocate, do you think Miles was getting pissed/flustrated at what a distraction the Michigan thing was getting to be? What did Miles do to deserve people getting up his ass with a microscope just because Carr announced his requirement? I actually felt for LSU because of the press corps circling like sharks.

If I was Miles, I would have told the press that I had no comment regarding the Michigan job until the SEC season was over. Instead, he initially was wishy washy with the press and that only fanned the flames of rumor and speculation.

True 93, I was on the fence about him all along, I DID like the Georgia Tech guy Rumor and honestly, after the Ferentz scare, I was leaning towards Miles simply because it would be better than Ferentz, nevertheless the entire situation reeks of something almost sinister to me.

Don't you think that the Boosters and Alum have a little more pull now? I hope you are wrong....but I fear you may be right.

Yeah, I don't get that. The guy lobbied for our job for years, never denied his interest, then wonders why the circus comes to town and acts all holier than thou? Whatever.

What I did like about the man is his experience in different conferences. I'd really like to see us hire someone who'll take advantage of our talent on offense and run a more aggressive defensive style. The Tenuta thing had me peeing my pants with excitement.

I think just what you said about Bo's office, Carr and Martin......it makes it difficult to attract someone who might feel they are going to be run by the old faction. We need to be able to offer some autonomy for the next coach. We want him to value the tradition, but not necessarily be hindered by it either.

I just heard that Ron English interviewed with Arkansas and UM is looking to give him a second interview. Anyone have any infoon this? I don't think he is the man for the job, but I will take him over Debord any day.

I'm also curious about something else. Earlier in the season, I got the impression that you were as big a proponent of Les Miles as anyone who regularly visits the MZone. After the Florida-LSU game, I even wrote an apology to you in particular, saying I wouldn't criticize Miles (at least on this blog) any more this season.

I'm curious what changed your mind - was it "forgetting what down it is, sketchy play calling, and unpredictable behavior," as you stated above, or was it the events of yesterday?

I guess I'm posing this same question to many of you who backed Miles earlier: was Les the beautiful girl you're excited about dating until you get to know her better and realize that there's nothing under the hood and there's no future there?

OR...

Was Les an attractive girl with a beautiful mind with whom you were completely smitten - until she dumped you - causing you to renounce all her prior virtues as a means of coping with the loss?

Yes, several months ago I was on the Miles bandwagon. You are right on in identifying my change in opinion.

I started watching Miles with a more critical eye and started seeing things which gave me concern. During the Arkansas game, the sideline mics caught Miles screaming at the refs "I'm the head football coach"... WTF?!?! Does the ref really care. And that is how Miles handles conflict, by whipping out his title repeatedly?

And throwing the fade on a 4th and 1, gutsy yes, but Michigan doesn't need a gunslinger coach right now. Michigan needs a creative coach that will continue to develop the great talent they already recruit. Michigan needs a staff that won't run to the left, run to the left, TE screen, and punt.

BiB... take this for what it is worth, but in my case, I can honestly say that I thought Miles was the beautiful girl, that when I finally got a date with her, I thought she was all looks and not much of anything else. And since I'm not 18 anymore, looks only makes up a portion of the total package.

However, what you will not see me doing is badmouthing Miles. Some of my fello Ann Arbor expats may do so but not me. There is nothing out there which doesn't make me think Miles is a Michigan man through and through and as a fellow Michigan man, I respect that! I think Miles' testy relationship with Lloyd is what ultimately doomed his chances at being the head ball coach.

I'm a little disappointed at the characterization that Miles settled for green and not blue. I don't think it was a money thing. I think it was a "how can I autonomously be the head ball coach with an enemy (Carr) hovering over me (as an assistant AD)?"

I hope Hawaii blows the hell out of Georgia and then hopefully no matter what happens in the BS NC game that Hawaii is number 1 in the AP poll so there can be a split NC again. Which is what the BS was designed to make never happen. I won't be watching a minute of the NC game because I abhor tosu and could care less about Les Miles and LSU. Either way I hope one of them is embarrassed and it's not a "good game."

btw I am a huge MI fan and live in the heart of Buckeye country. There's no rooting for them because they are the Big Ten. I hate them and hope they get killed.

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